


Merlin and Blackbeard

by VerityGrahams



Series: Ballycastle Bats - QLFC - Season 6 - Chaser 3 [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Ballycastle Bats, Chaser 3, F/M, Kneazles, Lost Pets, Nifflers, Pet Adventure, Pet fiction, The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, catnip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 11:57:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15796050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VerityGrahams/pseuds/VerityGrahams
Summary: Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Round 4 - Pets! Merlin is a very proud pet Kneazle whose adventure begins when the new pet Niffler, Blackbeard, rubs him the wrong way; "I mean, I was a purebred Kneazle; a noble and dignified race, and we didn't allow humans to force us into a 'kitty carry-case.'"This could easily fit into my Double Agent world - after all Severus get's Harry a rather mischievieous Kneazle





	Merlin and Blackbeard

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I do not own Harry Potter
> 
> Written for round 4 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Chaser 3 of the Ballycastle Bats
> 
> Prompt: Write from a pet's perspective about an adventure.
> 
> Optional Prompts: 7. Niffler 9. 'Who's a good boy/girl?' 10. Receiving a pet as a gift
> 
> Word Count: 2,968

Merlin and Blackbeard

Merlin

As I prepared to abandon my family I couldn't help but reminisce about my life with these rather odd humans; I'd sat in my pen minding my own business, then this monstrous human poked his face in on me. He wasn't the most pleasant looking human, but the tiny human with him was very good at petting, he'd got that spot just behind my left ear, I waited till I was and truly done before I'd claw this little human.

"Who's a good girl?" the tiny human asked.

'Who's a good girl?' Really? 'Who's a good girl?' That sentence just proved that humans deserved a good clawing from time to time. Firstly, there's the general patronising tone, and couldn't he tell I was a boy?

"Do you want this one, Harry?" the greasy human asked.

The tiny human nodded excitedly. I, however, took offence at the idea of a human 'owning' me. I went where I pleased. Then, Tiny Human scratched behind my ear again. I decided that I liked him, and I allowed him to take me home, but I'd claw the one I called Greasy Human as often as possible.

They were odd and relatively disrespectful, I had been caged against my will. I mean, I was a purebred Kneazle; a noble and dignified race, and we didn't allow humans to force us into a 'kitty carry-case.' We didn't allow them to force us into bright blue ribbons, and we were not gifts for snotty human children! I had done the only thing I could under the circumstances; I bit and clawed the humans as much as kneazley possible, and when that failed I made sure I alerted them to my displeasure by crying continuously. I refused to stop even though 'Greasy' and 'Tiny' wandered around the room picking up various items. I suspected that they were choosing devices of torture and maiming.

When I was finally released, everything was wrong, my litter was in a completely different place in relation to my bed, and my food was on the floor, there were perfectly good worktops I could sit on while I ate! There was another human here, a lady human, I referred to her as Pretty Human. She was sweet and kind with red hair, she was more like the little one, and was very good at petting and stroking. Then they ignored me, sitting around discussing my name, as though I didn't have an opinion on that! After completely ignoring my mewing, which was indicating the names of which I approved, I was dubbed 'Merlin'. Well, it wasn't the worst choice, but I had mewed my approval for the names 'Scar' and 'Claw'.

I did my best to try and protect my humans from suspected evils, such as the curtains. However, Greasy Human didn't approve. He didn't allow me to sleep on the lovely black robes either, I mean he wasn't even wearing them. To top everything off, they never appreciated my gifts. Initially, I figured they didn't like field mice, it's an acquired taste after all, but I brought them a sparrow! I mean who didn't love a good sparrow! They shouted at me as though I'd been using their washing basket like a litter box. Then they threw it away, how ungrateful was that? Even Tiny Human yelled at me, he said, and I quote:

"Bad Merlin!"

Luckily, when Greasy Human came back, he wasn't happy either, but he seemed to be the only one with any sense, well some sense. He explained to Tiny Human that this is what Kneazles did to say they loved you. Well, I wouldn't go that far! After all of this I found myself quite content with the family I had adopted, if I wanted to play, I'd go to Tiny Human, if I wanted to petting, I'd go Pretty Human, and if I wanted peace, I'd go to Greasy Human. I knew I would need to train them up some more, but I felt like we were getting somewhere. Alas, I was wrong, which led to the decision to walk out, all I knew was that I couldn't stay in this hell!

Pretty Human was the one that had brought it home, my nemesis. I referred to it as 'The Usurper.' I wandered in, and what did I find? A small furry creature with an abnormally long flat snout, it had little beady eyes and a goofy grin as he lapped up all the attention.

"Who's a good boy?" she cooed. "Oh yes, you're the most handsome boy!"

That's when I realised that Pretty Human was extremely fickle; she'd said the same thing to me, she used to lavish me with hours of petting, not to mention that Tiny Human used to play with me all day, now he had a new playmate. I didn't even care, and it's not that I liked entertaining the little brat for hours, what's amusing about a ball of yarn anyway? I initially took solace in the fact that Greasy Human seemed just as irritated by the furry black creature as I was.

They called it a 'Niffler', and Pretty Human gave it a ludicrous name; 'Blackbeard.' It's because it hoarded anything shiny it could get its grubby little paws on. You'd never guess where he kept his stash? In the little cubby above my scratching post, I'd never used it, and it's quite uncomfortable, but it's mine. I had a few more days of this, but the rubber hit the road one afternoon; I watched smugly as 'The Usurper' had snuggled on a pile of the Greasy Human's robes.' Finally, he was going to get his comeuppance; I watched as the human took notice where he had snuggled, I was shocked when he simply picked up The Usurper and placed him next to them with a little scratch behind the ear! The Niffler then moved over and sat on Greasy Human's lap. Greasy Human wasn't impressed by any means, but he didn't shout, he even allowed it.

Greasy Human had never granted me such privilege; I couldn't watch anymore, I decided to go to the kitchen for some food and lick my privates for a while, maybe I'd feel more relaxed. However, I got there, and my food bowl was half empty; clearly, they wanted me to starve. It was the last straw, and I decided to leave. It took some time to remove the blasted collar, a symbol of my bondage, but I was free.

Blackbeard

I couldn't believe my luck when the pretty redheaded human picked me. She smiled, and cooed, and was excellent at petting, and had shinies around her neck. I usually got in trouble when I took shinies, but she'd let me take them, and I kept them safe in my pouch. Her eyes were shinies too, bright green shinies, I just wished I could keep them safe in my pouch also.

"My little Harry is just going to love you," the human said in her sweet voice, as she cradled me in her arms.

I was then taken to her burrow; I was even given a shiny bow around my neck. I could only think that I was extremely fortunate with this keeper. When I got there I met the rest of my new family, there was a little human, and he was lovely too, he liked to cuddle and play. Then there was the last human, he was reticent, he didn't play or cuddle, but I was sure that he was lovely. I even had a friend here; he's a Kneazle called Merlin, he had the prettiest collar! I knew we had lots in common because when I tried to take his collar, he swiped at me with his paws, I wanted the shinies from his collar, but he was my friend, so I tried to restrain myself.

I found so many shinies. I even had a fantastic little burrow just for me where I could put all my shinies. I found coins everywhere, tiny bronze ones, small silver ones and even huge golden ones. The daddy human also played a game with those shinies. He took them from my burrow and hid them in his pockets and sometimes in drawers, and I had to find them again. It was an enjoyable game, that's how I knew that he was a kind human. But the pretty redheaded human had the best shinies, I always found gems, and golden necklaces, jewels, pearls, they even ate with shinies, I had a whole set of them in my burrow. It was the life. Things were going great, Merlin and I had so much fun together. But I knew something was wrong when I found his lovely shiny collar, he loved that collar, and he had abandoned it by his half-full food dish. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I had to do something, I needed to bring Merlin back and give him back his shinies!

Merlin

I wasn't free as part of that family, and therefore I moved onwards to a life more fitting to a Kneazle of such noble heritage. I had snuck out and wandered the streets; it wasn't long before I'd met and joined a neighbourhood pride. That was the first time I tried 'nip'. It's a narcotic that cats take, I found that it removed my stress and gave me the feeling of complete joy. The leader of the pride, Mr Delfino, was a large sandy coloured cat, he had distinctive spots and cold blue eyes. He provided the nip, and I provided my services, as a Kneazle I was stronger than most cats, and I roughed up those that owed him for the nip. Mr Delfino sold nip for fish parts, some parts were more desirable and got you the best nip, a full fish was the best, but we often had cats bringing a mere fish head, you don't get much for that, and as part of Mr Delfino's gang, I got my fill.

My days consisted of basking in the sun and nip whenever I wanted it. I didn't have to put up with Greasy Human shouting, I wasn't forced to watch Tiny Human play and giggle with The Usurper, and I didn't have to listen to it purr loudly as Pretty Human stroked him. Sure, I missed chasing the yarn, and it was much warmer at night when I was in the human's den, but I could scratch what I wanted, lay down wherever I pleased, and the best bit was, no The Usurper. I had to earn the life of luxury that I was leading. But, I was in heaven, it was worth it.

Blackbeard

Things just got worse and worse once Merlin had left. I kept his shiny collar in my pouch at all times, and whenever I could, I would go and search for Merlin. The Humans, however, had become quite demanding. Dark Human and Pretty Human were always getting me to play with the inconsolable Small Human. Small Human, yet, just cried for Merlin all day. They were not coping at all, they needed their Merlin, and I couldn't handle the responsibility of being their only pet. It was hard, I didn't care about yarn, and he didn't want to look at shinies, I think it was his missing Merlin, after all, who wouldn't want to look at shinies? I snuck out to try and find Merlin, to bring him back home to the burrow.

I wandered around every night until I found him. He didn't look like the proud and noble Kneazle, Merlin, that I remembered, his glossy coat was now dull and shabby, he was so thin. He was also hanging with what I thought was a bit of a rough crowd. I went straight over to Merlin and tried to get him to come back. It seemed that Merlin either didn't want to go back home or the other cat wouldn't let him. He was big, but Merlin was a Kneazle, he could take him. I did all that I could, but they fought me off. I thought of poor inconsolable Small Human. I would keep trying to bring Merlin back.

Merlin

The first time that I wasn't able to get payment, Mr Delfino turned nasty and demanded I pay for my nip! That wasn't what I signed up for, because I couldn't pay up, I had been given the tasks no one wanted. I had thought Mr Delfino had seen something in me, but he was using my superior strength to fuel his little nip empire. I needed to walk away. I tried, but I didn't get very far, that's when Mr Delfino roughed me up, usually; I would be able to fight them off, but I was strung out on nip, and it was four cats to one Kneazle, no matter how pure the breed, those were not good odds.

I fought hard and lost, I was trapped, but I was adamant that I wouldn't be staying here, I would work my way to my family again. All I could think of was Tiny Human, and who would he possibly play the yarn game with? That idiot Niffler didn't care for yarn if it didn't sparkle, he didn't care. Pretty Human would be forced to pet that coarse dark hair, she would have no soft Kneazle fur to bury her hands in, and let's face it, a Kneazle purr was far more delightful than that of a Niffler. Greasy Human would have no one to accompany him whilst he thought, he'd have no one to yell at for laying on his dark robes, as sour as he was, as I lay there in the dark, cold in the corner of a cardboard box, I knew that he'd miss me, just as I missed them. Suddenly I realised my food bowl had been half full all along. \

I learned a lot on my little adventure about what it meant to be a Kneazle, it's about loving and caring for the family that you guard, regardless if we were appreciated. Yes, I'd swipe at Greasy Human, and I'd complain about their carelessness, I'd not had a lobotomy! But we didn't abandon them, because they needed us, even if we didn't strictly-speaking need them, Kneazles didn't need anyone. I had a plan; I would get from under Delfino's clutches, no more nip, work off my debt and make my way back to my family. It was the day after this revelation that Niffler arrived, he and my collar, he called it a 'shiny', that creature had a one track mind, and he gave it back. Niffler- from here on I would call him Blackbeard - had come out to find me and given up a shiny object, that was unheard of. He tried to get me to come home, he even growled at Delfino and tried to swipe him. Delfino was having none of it, so I chased him off. Blackbeard took the collar and suddenly there was no hope, I was wasting away.

Blackbeard

I knew where he was now; I just needed to get my humans there. Surely they would save Merlin! I had tried to get the humans to follow me, but I kept striking out. Dark Human would look at me as I ventured out of the door. Tiny Human cried for me to come back and Pretty Human would forcibly bring me back. I realised one evening that I would be able to use that to my advantage. I planned to do it when they snuggled Tiny Human to bed. I waited and then I took out the collar and gave it to Tiny Human. Predictably he burst into tears, and I scratched at the little boys clothing, and he cried some more, and I ran for it, Tiny Human followed. I was out of the back door in an instant. Pretty Human followed as Tiny Human crawled through the overly large cat flap. I ran, and I ran, dropping shinies on the way, then I knew they wouldn't get lost. All I could hear as I tore down the street was Pretty Human shouting for the Tiny Human to come back, but he didn't listen. I was running for sometime before I came upon Merlin and his oppressors.

Merlin

It was another dark, dismal night, and I was starving, I was officially paid up. I had gone to Delfino and told him I would be leaving. That hadn't gone well, he laughed in my face and told me I still owed him. That's when I realised that Delfino would never play fair like I was accustomed to, I felt trapped, stuck like there was no way out. All I could do was make a run for it. I tried, I was pounced on by his thugs. It was then that I heard the footsteps and Pretty Human's loud shouts. I fought and fought the group of cats that had scratched and clawed me. I hissed and mewed, hoping I someone would find me. Then suddenly I heard the most heartwarming sound I could imagine:

"MERLIN!" Tiny Human shouted.

"HARRY!" Pretty Human could be heard not far behind him.

The rest of the cats, even Delfino, scattered as my Pretty Human shooed them away. I lay there scrawny and helpless, but Tiny Human picked me up and cradled me in his arms.

"Merlin, I love you," he whispered, "you are my favourite present ever!"

He stroked and petted me all the way home; I noticed Blackbeard following us, picking up a trail of treasures. I relaxed for the first time and purred.

"Who's a good boy?" Tiny Human cooed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading - comment and kudos please


End file.
